S16.E16: Leave a Light On

[statsgirl]

5 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Seeing as, as soon as Jo finished reading the letter that Link came by and they had flirty eyes for each other (stop SMILING AT JO'S PAIN, LINK), yeah, I'm 100% positive they're going that route.

Jo/Alex and Amelia/Linc were the only two couples left that I was enjoying. Now they are going to be gone too.

If Alex had died, Jo would have had to mourn for at least a year. Now they can put her together with Linc by the time Amelia's baby is born.

 

[DollEyes]

Grey's Anatomy has been circling the drain for years, but the treatment of Alex proves what a shit show it's become.  Had they killed off Alex like they did Derek, Mark and George, I wouldn't have liked it, but at least I would've respected it. Krista Vernoff didn't just destroy Karev; she pissed on his grave. This is character assassination of S8 Game Of Thrones proportions.

I'm not the biggest Jo fan, but if Alex had to dump her, he should've done it in person. To paraphrase Carrie Bradshaw after Berger dumped her via a Post-It on Sex & the City, "When you decide to break up with someone, you [should] have that unpleasant conversation face-to-face because not having it- that makes you the bad guy."

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by DollEyes

[StaceyNotStacie]

I didn’t hate this. When I saw everyone with letters at the beginning and everyone’s somber moods, I was thinking that maybe he had some fatal illness that occurred suddenly and he wrote goodbye letters knowing he was going to die. I liked his letters to Meredith and Bailey, and I wish that we could have heard the one he wrote to Richard. 
 

Was there any significance in the name Eli?  I was surprised that Izzy didn’t name one of her kids after George. 
 

I’ve never been a big fan of Jo, so that part didn’t bother me. Considering how awful the write off for KH was when she left, I’m glad that they gave Izzy some sort of closure along with Alex. 

[Anela]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

I would have preferred Alex having an accident and dying.

To hear that he's been communicating with Izzy for months, and leaves Jo for the woman who couldn't be bothered to tell him for 6 years that she implanted the embryos with his sperm, is a character death worse than actual dying.

The writer tried to make it about being around for your kids but it was a massive fail.

Yes, this was what I was thinking, too. He would have been pissed that she kept his children from him for five years. I could see Izzie being too proud to call him, that would be in character, but she would have done it eventually. 

56 minutes ago, Evie said:

So that happened. So can I be pissed about how they chose to write Alex out now? Cause yeah, Justin Chambers walked away leaving Krista and the writers in a tough spot, but they had choices other than Alex abandoning his wife for the ex-wife that not only abandoned him but apparently used their frozen embryos and didn't tell him he had two kids. That's sick. Not only was it total character assassination of Alex but they made it a twofer and assasinated Izzie again for the hell of it though it seems like they thought this was some kind of bittersweet and heartwarming ending. The F***. This Alex fan wishes Alex could have been hit by a bus or a truck or eaten by wolves.

I didn't even think of this. They hated Heigl so much, they stuck it to her again. 

45 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

I mean, really, am I supposed to be pleased with this ending for Alex? He left his wife to be with Izzie ... booooo -- but wait, wait! It's okay, it's more than that, because they have children and he left to be with his newly discovered family ... so he's been shacking up with Izzie, sleeping with Izzie, starting a whole new second life family with her while he was STILL MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE and lying to his WIFE about where he was for MONTHS and then tells her the truth FINALLY by just sending her a fucking LETTER and the signed divorce papers? This is his goodbye? I'm supposed to like this? This is supposed to be some kind of noble ending for him? What. The Fuck. Ever.

I need to stop reading. I'm getting annoyed all over again.

The whole thing was weird, because neither Alex or Izzie were actually on-screen during the farm scenes. The kids were cute, but after the third re-hash of their footage, it was feeling more like one of those commercials featuring blue skies, the beach or beautiful countryside, and beautiful people, as they list a shit-load of side-effects for a medication (sometimes including death), that they're also begging for you to ask your doctor to provide for you. 

Edited March 6, 2020 by Anela

[Tripper]

7 minutes ago, DollEyes said:

Grey's Anatomy has been circling the drain for years, but the treatment of Alex proves what a shit show it is.  Had they killed off Alex like they did Derek, Mark and George, I wouldn't have liked it, but at least I would've respected it.

Amen.......

New found kids or no kids, you don't leave your wife with a letter.  No reason he and Jo couldn't have found away to be in his kids life....TOGETHER.  Better to have had some more realistic ending.  This really sucked and was a disservice to all the loyal Grey's fans.  

[breezy424]

From the other side of the pool...I didn't mind this ending.  I'm glad they didn't kill him off.  And I got an episode that let me look at what Grey's use to be.  I miss that Grey's.

Alex was always an imperfect character.  So him leaving Jo wouldn't be a surprise and the fantasy of his and Izzie's ending doesn't bother me.

The only sad part was missing old Grey's anatomy and Jo going through trauma again.  Linc will come to her rescue.

[UNOSEZ]

To me.. It was kill him or come up with something so big he couldn't come back and concievably ppl like Jo, Mer, Bailey and Webber wouldn't go after him... 

Him caring for a parent or sibling.. Taking a job somewhere.. Hell even wandering off on some walkabout could've   and would've had one of them chasing him down... This way ties are cut.. Ppl don't have to linger.. With the added benefits of... Possible return for the end of the series... 

So I mean I'm good.. But as I've seen  and said on this and other boards... I wasn't that big of  a Karev fan.. So this really wasn't as major as when George or izzie or Lexi or Mark left or died

Also it let's the writers play around a bit more with the ppl left behind.. If he dies.. Its just grief for a while... This some may be livid... Some may wanna destruct.. Who knows... I'll be watching

[betha]

48 minutes ago, Daisy said:

All Krista freaking had to do was just have Alex not be on screen. That's it.. that's all. you didn't have to be dramatic about it. hell just show a body in bed, show him walking down the hall, anything. 

Right! How hard would this have been? They already had the perfect set-up, because he was working at a whole other hospital! They could have brought the rest of the characters back, left Alex at Pac North, and have Jo reference him every once in a while, while they limp along their last season or two. Jo and Alex already got their happy ending and had all the relationship drama. She has plenty of work-related storylines. There was no need to make her single again and ruin Alex’s character. 

I guess they thought that a Jo/Linc storyline was worth trashing Alex. I could see finding out he has kids with Izzy be the thing that pulled him away from Jo. But the Alex he has come to be never would have left without saying a word to her. 

I suppose I am happy he is happy. The kids were cute. But it was so pat and unearned. Ugh. Even the letters didn’t sound like things he would say. Just felt like horrible fan fiction. 

[Norma Desmond]

Omfg what did they do. Does Krista hate the show?

 

 

[Milaxx]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Not sure how I feel about this...

Was that Justin doing the voiceover or just someone who sounds like him?

(How long is he suppose to have been gone? I've lost track.)

Those kids are adorable.

At least they didn't kill him off...

 

TBH, I would have preferred death over this mess.

54 minutes ago, MaryRhodaPhyllis said:

Look, I rooted for Izzie/Alex back in the day and I took a long time to invest in Jo, who spent her first four seasons as a cardboard cutout love interest with scant definition. 

But reuniting Alex with Izzie as his farewell storyline totally negates all the growth his character endured while with Jo. It's a rejection of the last, eight -- if not TEN -- years. 

And I'm shocked that they would dignify Heigl by trying to spin Izzie as anyone's happy ending. This was like fan fiction. 

Plus, now we're goddamn stuck with Jo, who only exists on the show because she was supposed to be Alex's endgame love interest. There's no point now -- this is the same thing that happened to Arizona after Callie.

Oy vey. 2012 me would have been thrilled with this; 2020 me is not. 

All that character growth went out the window. TPTB must have been really pissed at Justin.

22 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

According to EW, it is Justin Chambers doing the voice overs.   It makes sense    If he wouldn’t do it, they could have had Meredith read her letter, Bailey read hers, etc.    

PBut damn, his tone was flat; he almost sounded medicated   

https://ew.com/tv/greys-anatomy-alex-karev-exit-izzie-stevens/

I thought it was him. It just sounds like him not putting forth any effort. Maybe it was the prerequisite to being let out of his contract. 

[txhorns79]

21 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

 

But damn, his tone was flat; he almost sounded medicated   

I guess I can see how that was him.  It certainly sounded like whomever was doing them had little interest in doing anything except getting through them.

I'll say that I understand that the writers were backed into a corner by Chambers, and this ending for his character was ad hoc, but wow, Alex and Izzy deserve each other.  He's comfortable with abandoning his wife and life for a woman who apparently hid the fact that he had kids for years.  It's ridiculous and absurd.   

[Racj82]

1 minute ago, Norma Desmond said:

Omfg what did they do. Does Krista hate the show?

 

 

Does Chambers hate the show? Leaving in the middle of a mapped out season without notice?

[Bulldog]

11 minutes ago, Norma Desmond said:

Does Krista hate the show?

[dmc]

30 minutes ago, Tripper said:

IMHO, Justin Chambers should have given fans more dignity than to just up and leave the show without any warning....I guess he is fairly close to the type of person he plays as Alex!  

This kind of ending really sucks and is a smack in the face to the loyal GA fans.  And considering he was pretty much a "nobody" before GA, he should have had much more respect and appreciation for the show and the fan base.  Given that the creator and producers decided to keep him around for 16 seasons, he could have at least given them some notice so the show could have planned a real ending...One his character deserved (like season ending).  He's a POS. 

I keep wondering if Justin is ill or something 

[Daisy]

10 minutes ago, betha said:

Right! How hard would this have been? They already had the perfect set-up, because he was working at a whole other hospital! They could have brought the rest of the characters back, left Alex at Pac North, and have Jo reference him every once in a while, while they limp along their last season or two. Jo and Alex already got their happy ending and had all the relationship drama. She has plenty of work-related storylines. There was no need to make her single again and ruin Alex’s character. 

I guess they thought that a Jo/Linc storyline was worth trashing Alex. I could see finding out he has kids with Izzy be the thing that pulled him away from Jo. But the Alex he has come to be never would have left without saying a word to her. 

I suppose I am happy he is happy. The kids were cute. But it was so pat and unearned. Ugh. Even the letters didn’t sound like things he would say. Just felt like horrible fan fiction. 

 

I said the same thing when they murdered Derek. (and I HATED DEREK). I get that Patrick Dempsey was difficult to work with and everything, i do. but you already gave him an out - he was working in Washington. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM?

there is no way on God's green Earth that Alex would have abandoned Jo. Never. Not even for his two kids. he would have moved heaven and earth to make it work. even if he had to buy a plane or something. He would have made it work that he would have been in his kids life and still keep Jo in his.

but I'm expected to believe that he found out about these kids and it made him realised he still loved Izzie who abandoned him, left him with debt, and all of this crap  - like to the point Izzie and Alex are apparently sleeping together? and this happened in the span of what? a few whatever it's been?
 

[Tripper]

12 minutes ago, Racj82 said:

Does Chambers hate the show? Leaving in the middle of a mapped out season without notice?

IMHO, demonstrates how ungrateful he is to the creator, producers and etc...Especially given that he was a "nobody" before GA, and this show is his only real acting success.  And, given the loyal GA fans, leaving at the end with some type of realistic season cliff hanger, would have been much more appropriate and respect for their loyalty.  

In the end, Chambers pretty much showed he isn't far off from the character he plays as "Alex".......                                                                              

[Nilknarf]

This was such a shitty way for Alex to go out. Kudos to him for wanting to be there for his kids, but he didn’t have to hook up with Izzy to do so. What an uncharacteristically crappy way for him to treat Jo. 
I’m so disappointed. There are so many ways they could have given him a more honorable exit.

this sucked 

Edited March 6, 2020 by Nilknarf

[dshgr]

I LOVED it!

[Janie430]

To defend Dempsey and Chambers, 12 and 15 years are a very long time to give a TV show, especially a night time drama.  No one gave ER that long, especially not a leading man role.  Clooney, Edwards, LaSalle and Wylie all left, and not just to make it in Hollywood (Edwards knew he wasn't doing that).

For all that Grey's is soapy, the things soaps have over Grey's were fairly sane regular shooting hours.  It was considered a great steady gig if you had a family.  And even then, people left for a time.  Night time dramas are intense shooting schedules.  I remember Carl Weather's saying he was glad when Street Justice was done, because he'd been in every other scene for three years and he was wrecked.

Chambers may have been an add for leaving on short notice - or he may have had family issues, or health problems, or addiction issues, or he may have looked in a mirror and said "If I have to go to work for another week, I'm going to go nuts."

This was a writer/show runner taking her anger out on a character at Brenda Smith levels (Mary's character assassination on Seventh Heaven was unreal).  Blame that on Krista.  If Justin had died on the street, she would have had to write him off.  She chose how to do it

[Evie]

1 minute ago, dmc said:

I keep wondering if Justin is ill or something 

There were rumors that he was receiving treatment for mental health issues when he asked to be let out of his contract. Without knowing the situation, I hesitate to judge.

I will judge the writing though. I know the show was in a tough spot but it felt like they ripped off some bad fanfic. 

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, Tripper said:

IMHO, Justin Chambers should have given fans more dignity than to just up and leave the show without any warning....I guess he is fairly close to the type of person he plays as Alex!  

I feel like there must have been some kind of issue (medical or family) that made him leave. He had a contract through at least this season, the show could have made him do more episodes. But they must have felt his reason was valid enough to change their season plan. Although, I obviously don't know anything about Justin Chambers's life.

I am actually torn. I am really, really glad they didn't kill him off and like the idea that he has some kind of happy ending. But it is terrible what it did to Jo. If they had just had him move to Kansas to be by his kids and not be with Izzy it would have been better. 

Also, I know the hand-written letters were supposed to be meaningful, but if this was another show it would be some big fakeout. He could have been abducted or killed and the letters were done by the killer to cover it up. It is pretty far fetched, but I would want to have more than a letter to believe my husband was leaving me.

[LexieLily]

4 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Also, I know the hand-written letters were supposed to be meaningful, but if this was another show it would be some big fakeout. He could have been abducted or killed and the letters were done by the killer to cover it up. It is pretty far fetched, but I would want to have more than a letter to believe my husband was leaving me.

@statsgirl can tell you that I was telling her this very same thing via direct message. 

Grey's is essentially just a night-time soap opera, right? Have it come out in the second half of the last season that the letters written to Jo, Meredith, Richard and Bailey weren't written by Alex, but they were written by Izzie. The cancer changed her personality or something. It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that he didn't write the letters given that Alex still hasn't actually spoken to Meredith or Jo since he "went to Iowa." 

[Peachyqueen]

2 hours ago, Legalbeagle421 said:

That definitely was not him. I was thinking that the entire episode. What a mess. 

I have not watched Grey’s in FOREVER but I wanted to see what happened with Karev after all the hype.... So when I heard the VO, (after being down a dark wormhole of obsession over “You”), ALL I could hear was Joe Goldberg!!!

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, Tripper said:

IMHO, Justin Chambers should have given fans more dignity than to just up and leave the show without any warning....I guess he is fairly close to the type of person he plays as Alex!  

This kind of ending really sucks and is a smack in the face to the loyal GA fans.  And considering he was pretty much a "nobody" before GA, he should have had much more respect and appreciation for the show and the fan base.  Given that the creator and producers decided to keep him around for 16 seasons, he could have at least given them some notice so the show could have planned a real ending...One his character deserved (like season ending).  He's a POS. 

 

4 hours ago, Tripper said:

IMHO, demonstrates how ungrateful he is to the creator, producers and etc...Especially given that he was a "nobody" before GA, and this show is his only real acting success.  And, given the loyal GA fans, leaving at the end with some type of realistic season cliff hanger, would have been much more appropriate and respect for their loyalty.  

In the end, Chambers pretty much showed he isn't far off from the character he plays as "Alex".......                                                                              

Seriously, this is so gross and judgmental.  It's a just TV show, for god's sake.  Justin Chambers put himself and his family and, apparently, his health ahead of the creators and writers of this show and its fans, and you know what?  That's exactly what he should be doing.  His personal wellbeing should and does come before you and me and every other fan every single time.  Blaming him the actor and real person for making the decision to take care of himself because you didn't like the way the writers chose to write Alex the character out is misplaced and selfish.  Blame the writers: they'd barely written anything for Alex in the last few seasons anyway, and they've had time to think of about a million more believable ways to write him out and decided on this hilarious trash.  This is on them, not on Chambers.

[CrazyInAlabama]

So he leaves his wife for the woman who always loved Denny, cheated with married George and destroyed his marriage, and goes with someone who didn't bother to mention where she's been all of these years (Alex said so when he was discussing what happened to Izzy in his mind), and didn't mention he had kids with her?      Why didn't they have him stay in Iowa, take care of his mother, and get a job there, and then Jo eventually moves there?     This was ridiculous. 

I think the voice over sounding mechanical, and not like the character was deliberate by the actor.   

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[UNOSEZ]

6 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

But it is terrible what it did to Jo. If they had just had him move to Kansas to be by his kids and not be with Izzy it would have been better. 

It would've been nicer.. But then Jo ( as she's been written)  picks up and moves to Kansas to be with her guy or she stays for her "career" and then she's the character who isn't trying to make it work.. The one actively keeping the couple apart.. That means weeks on the show of ppl asking what she's gonna do.. Airtime spent on a character who isn't there and it still ends with her as kinda the bad guy... That's unfair to Camilla 

I appreciated Richard's part I liked how he equated it with what happened with ellis

[funnygirl]

Jo has always been the discount version of Izzie Stevens. That folks would prefer Alex to die to spare Jo (and The Sun’s) feelings is silly to me. It’s been what feels like 100 years, but Izzie and Alex had something really special - and Justin and Katherine had fantastic chemistry. And let’s not forget, Jo’s not perfect. She purposefully shut Alex out last season when she was dealing with her stuff. 

Anyway, he snooched in a cup and those fertilized embryos have been in play ever since. As we saw in the flashback, Jo herself even brought them up. Point is, considering the circumstances and limitations to work with, this was about as good of an ending as Alex could get. Y’all didn’t think it’s fair for Camilla to lose her job by having Jo be written out? Cool. But just because she’s still around doesn’t make her more important to the show than Alex. He’s an OG.

It sucks for the shippers, and I sympathize. But the writers had the season planned out and an unexpected Alex death would’ve curtailed those plans with a lot of significant characters grieving. And they couldn’t resort to big time jumps to get past it because of other storylines in play - like Amelia’s Who’s The Baby Daddy dumpster fire. 

Since Grey’s has become the show that just won’t end, they had to set it up where the characters could continue to live their lives - Mer happy that Alex is safe and has all that he wants/needs just like Cristina, and Jo free to move forward in an eventual new relationship (please not Link!). 

Massive info dumps aside, I thought the letters explained Alex’s situation well, especially his letter to Meredith. And I can imagine both Mer and Cristina, when she tells her, getting a kick out of Evil Spawn and Dr. Model ending up together with kids after all. That crew went through a lot together, and Alex has been through a lot in his life, and I feel like his story has come full circle. Rushed and thrown together, sure, but credit to Krista for doing her best with what she had. 

And let me just add that I loved Miranda telling Ben that he changes careers like he changes sweaters. HA! Finally, it’s been called out. 

 

[readster]

I have never seen such character assassination, throwing all story lines out since an Aaron Spelling TV series. Wow! Just horrible on all levels. I know people were saying that ABC was proving why Grey's is still on because TONS of people were calling out the crap on social media. However... I really think this will be the death kneel for the show. Especially if they do reveal if Owen is the baby daddy and they are just going to push Linc and Jo together because you know, Justin Chamber left the show.

[Daisy]

3 minutes ago, funnygirl said:

Jo has always been the discount version of Izzie Stevens. That folks would prefer Alex to die to spare Jo (and The Sun’s) feelings is silly to me. It’s been what feels like 100 years, but Izzie and Alex had something really special - and Justin and Katherine had fantastic chemistry. And let’s not forget, Jo’s not perfect. She purposefully shut Alex out last season when she was dealing with her stuff. 

Anyway, he snooched in a cup and those fertilized embryos have been in play ever since. As we saw in the flashback, Jo herself even brought them up. Point is, considering the circumstances and limitations to work with, this was about as good of an ending as Alex could get. Y’all didn’t think it’s fair for Camilla to lose her job by having Jo be written out? Cool. But just because she’s still around doesn’t make her more important to the show than Alex. He’s an OG.

It sucks for the shippers, and I sympathize. But the writers had the season planned out and an unexpected Alex death would’ve curtailed those plans with a lot of significant characters grieving. And they couldn’t resort to big time jumps to get past it because of other storylines in play - like Amelia’s Who’s The Baby Daddy dumpster fire. 

Since Grey’s has become the show that just won’t end, they had to set it up where the characters could continue to live their lives - Mer happy that Alex is safe and has all that he wants/needs just like Cristina, and Jo free to move forward in an eventual new relationship (please not Link!). 

Massive info dumps aside, I thought the letters explained Alex’s situation well, especially his letter to Meredith. And I can imagine both Mer and Cristina, when she tells her, getting a kick out of Evil Spawn and Dr. Model ending up together with kids after all. That crew went through a lot together, and Alex has been through a lot in his life, and I feel like his story has come full circle. Rushed and thrown together, sure, but credit to Krista for doing her best with what she had. 

And let me just add that I loved Miranda telling Ben that he changes careers like he changes sweaters. HA! Finally, it’s been called out. 

 

I'm sorry - with all do respect, this was not the best that Krista could have come up with.  I'm not the biggest fan of Jo and Alex's relationship at all - so it's not even stemming from that. 

I understand that Alex wants to be there for his kids. I get he wants to be a forever presence in his lives because his parents were't. That doesn't mean that Alex had to go live with Izzy and reinact some Harlequin Blaze story plot here. He could have moved to Kansas, taken a job in that hospital (because he officially really did not have a job at Pac North and for all intents and purposes he didn't have a job in Seattle). Even working with the information that the show GAVE US. 

1: He lies to Jo for whatever dumb reason- goes to Kansas finds his kids, and Izzy and they have a serious come to Jesus moment. 

2: Alex needs time to process things. He also knows that his wife just came off a massive bought of depression and has serious abandonment issues (right now) so he phones her. he goes, there are a lot of things happening right now, he loves her, he will come home and they will talk about it because this is a conversation that you don't have over the phone or in a letter. 

3: Jo and Meredith (including the clips/voice over from Alex) what happened. Izzy had their kids. Izzy was gonna tell Alex, but then she realised that Alex was getting married/was married and she didn't really want to disrupt his life etc, because she knows what Alex would do. she realised it was wrong though because Alex deserved to know that the babies were born and he was a father. Alex, Jo, and Izzy all talked it out and because of Alex's lack of employment, he would take the chief of staff/peds chief in Kansas, so he could be in his kids life permanently. Jo right now doesn't want to leave Seattle (akin to Meredith not wanting to go to Washington with Derek). so she can fly down and also be a presence in the kids life.

4: then you could still break up Jo and Alex if they must to do Jo and Linc (which whatever i don't care) because a myriad of reasons. 

but i just can't believe that basically in a span of a few weeks Alex is in contact with Izzy, goes to Kansas,, then decides "yeup, I have kids, I still love Izzy, see ya Jo." That was  early, early early Alex. 

 

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

So he leaves his wife for the woman who always loved Denny, cheated with married George and destroyed his marriage, and goes with someone who didn't bother to mention where she's been all of these years (Alex said so when he was discussing what happened to Izzy in his mind), and didn't mention he had kids with her?      Why didn't they have him stay in Iowa, take care of his mother, and get a job there, and then Jo eventually moves there?     This was ridiculous. 

I think the voice over sounding mechanical, and not like the character was deliberate by the actor.   

 

yeah. this just bugs me on so many levels. i can't even even with this nonsense. 

[Trillium]

I gave up this show up after the idiotic plane crash, and only check a few episodes here and there, and came here to see if Alex’s farewell was worth watching. What I saw of Jo never impressed me, so I don’t have any investment in what happened to her. But this was straight up lazy. Of course Izzy had Alex’s baby! And TWINS! Like all terrible middle school level fan fic, babies must come in the form of multiples. 
 

I’ll just pretend the show ended years ago after they all passed their medical boards and they all went off to their great fellowships, and we’re happy, healthy, and alive. 

Edited March 6, 2020 by Trillium

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Linc continues to be the nicest person on the show. He fetched Jo's stuff from the loft and then offered to stay with her while she read Alex's letter. That doesn't mean I want the inevitable Jo/Linc romance though. Why can't we ever just let two platonic friends stay platonic?

All the flashbacks reminded me how much better this show used to be and how much I used to care about the characters. And now we have new people like Schmitt and Nico, who could both die and I wouldn't blink.

Part of me liked that aside from Jo, the other people who got letters from Alex were the remaining original cast members. But I couldn't get over the fact that he dumped Jo in a letter. Even for a boyfriend/girlfriend, that's a shitty way to break up with someone. But YOUR SPOUSE deserves better than that. If you are going to end your marriage then the very least you could do is tell them in person.

I was prepared for Alex to be dead so I was mostly relieved that he didn't die in some terribly gruesome yet strange accident.

10 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I see Grey's is still jacking shit from E.R. Listen, I liked Alex and Izzy back in the day, even shipped them but they are no Doug and Carol.

Ha, no kidding!

9 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

The part of me that has watched this show in the last couple years was scared shitless when every letter started that the next letter would reveal that Alex killed himself and Richard or someone would be left with the secret that all the other letters were lies.

Same here. When the first letter arrived, I thought it was going to be the last thing he wrote before he was killed in some kind of conflagration or freak industrial accident. But when several letters arrived, I was afraid that he had written goodbye letters before committing suicide.

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Evie]

1 hour ago, UNOSEZ said:

It would've been nicer.. But then Jo ( as she's been written)  picks up and moves to Kansas to be with her guy or she stays for her "career" and then she's the character who isn't trying to make it work.. The one actively keeping the couple apart.. That means weeks on the show of ppl asking what she's gonna do.. Airtime spent on a character who isn't there and it still ends with her as kinda the bad guy... That's unfair to Camilla 

I think Alex not answering her calls/texts for weeks? months? (Seriously, what is the timeline on this show? It seems like weeks have passed in Seattle and months in Kansas. I've been to Kansas. They have winter too but there was just a blizzard in Seattle and yet it was summer on the farm heh) and then explaining himself in a letter would be more than enough grounds for divorce, but I get your point. I think they could have made it work if they had cut some flashbacks and let Jo voice her feelings, but I'm sure they wanted Jo to be the victim so they could more easily move her on.

One of the farm scenes had "Izzie" watching as the twins happily ran to a man on a tractor wearing a cowboy hat. I assume that was supposed to be Alex. ALEX KAREV. TRACTOR. COWBOY HAT. WTF, people????

[Tripper]

2 minutes ago, Evie said:

I think Alex not answering her calls/texts for weeks? months? (Seriously, what is the timeline on this show? It seems like weeks have passed in Seattle and months in Kansas. I've been to Kansas. They have winter too but there was just a blizzard in Seattle and yet it was summer on the farm heh) and then explaining himself in a letter would be more than enough grounds for divorce, but I get your point. I think they could have made it work if they had cut some flashbacks and let Jo voice her feelings, but I'm sure they wanted Jo to be the victim so they could more easily move her on.

One of the farm scenes had "Izzie" watching as the twins happily ran to a man on a tractor wearing a cowboy hat. I assume that was supposed to be Alex. ALEX KAREV. TRACTOR. COWBOY HAT. WTF, people????

One of the things that I've noticed with many shows across the board is the serious loss in logic with storylines, events, or whatever.  I realize it's tv but at least make it believable and reasonable..... 

[Tripper]

4 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

 

Seriously, this is so gross and judgmental.  It's a just TV show, for god's sake.  Justin Chambers put himself and his family and, apparently, his health ahead of the creators and writers of this show and its fans, and you know what?  That's exactly what he should be doing.  His personal wellbeing should and does come before you and me and every other fan every single time.  Blaming him the actor and real person for making the decision to take care of himself because you didn't like the way the writers chose to write Alex the character out is misplaced and selfish.  Blame the writers: they'd barely written anything for Alex in the last few seasons anyway, and they've had time to think of about a million more believable ways to write him out and decided on this hilarious trash.  This is on them, not on Chambers.

Sorry, but your post is exactly one of the main things that has changed in our society.....Being respectful of who helped you get where you are and where you came from, not be all about "you" because you made your money now or whatever.  

If he was suffering from some type of personal situation, then shame on them for letting fans speculate.  As another poster said, we can still judge the writers, and the ending sucked.  My guess is they came up with some wild ending to leave the door opening for his possible return one day.....

[UNOSEZ]

4 minutes ago, Evie said:

. I think they could have made it work if they had cut some flashbacks and let Jo voice her feelings, but I'm sure they wanted Jo to be the victim so they could more easily move her on.

I think more Jo, right there would've made her more sympathetic... And rightly so... I woulda liked to hear more from her but I imagine they're saving her more robust reaction ( and the folks around her)  for later... 

This seems to be the season of ppl going for their happiness no matter who it hurts.. And well sometimes ppl are selfish, that's life Karev admitted he was doing a scumbag thing.. He had valid reasons.. And I imagine if I decided to leave a woman I'm in love with to go be with a woman who may have been my first love who also had my kids ( with his background)  I think I'd have to chicken out and go dark then write a letter or something to... To face her.. Woof that would be too hard... Not a particularly proud statement but true... 

And this is Grey's ppl do scumbag stuff all the time... The show started with Derek cheating on his wife... Meredith Pity-banged George when he was like full on in love with her.. George cheated on Callie.. Arizona cheated on Callie... April left her fiance at the altar to run off with Jackson... Meredith Dissapears for months... April leaves Jackson for like a year plus after their baby died.. I mean these cries of character assassination seem strong to me... Hell Alex and Owen forced that guy who Jo almost beat to death to quit cuz he grabbed her... Alex almost killed Deluca and went to jail for like two episodes of Law and Order.... 

[Tripper]

9 hours ago, Evie said:

There were rumors that he was receiving treatment for mental health issues when he asked to be let out of his contract. Without knowing the situation, I hesitate to judge.

I will judge the writing though. I know the show was in a tough spot but it felt like they ripped off some bad fanfic. 

This wold make sense why they came up with the standard "spend more time with family" announcement...Oldest excuse in the book.  My guess is he left with the show's blessing or they would have killed his character off via disappearing somehow, plane crash or whatever.

This also leaves the door open for a possible return...If he is in treatment, no one knows what he may want after his recovery....Even if it's just for half a season or when the series ends or whatever.  

[tinderbox]

I never doubted it was Justin Chambers doing the narration and was actually surprised he participated at all.

The episode left me feeling empty.  Didn’t hate it.  Didn’t love it.

At least Alex isn’t dead.  They all CAN go see him if they choose and vice versa.

Edited March 6, 2020 by tinderbox

[RedbirdNelly]

10 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

 
 

Was there any significance in the name Eli?  I was surprised that Izzy didn’t name one of her kids after George. 
 

 

Izzy is likely short for Elizabeth

Elizabeth---Eli

Alex----Alexis

[funnygirl]

2 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

Izzy is likely short for Elizabeth

Elizabeth---Eli

Alex----Alexis

Izzie is short for Isobel (she's Isobel Stevens).

[CrazyInAlabama]

My guess is the actor had to do the voice overs, in order to get out of his contract mid-season.   That would explain the (I didn't watch the show, and never intend to watch again) listless voice overs others have mentioned.   I think this was the character's last appearance of any kind, and the way they made his exit so sneaky, and rotten.    

I think it confirms the rumors that the actor simply wouldn't appear with others on the show for some reason, so they had the two story lines with the other hospital.    Once Chambers said he was leaving, then they dumped the other story line.  

[Daisy]

10 hours ago, Stacey1014 said:

I didn’t hate this. When I saw everyone with letters at the beginning and everyone’s somber moods, I was thinking that maybe he had some fatal illness that occurred suddenly and he wrote goodbye letters knowing he was going to die. I liked his letters to Meredith and Bailey, and I wish that we could have heard the one he wrote to Richard. 
 

Was there any significance in the name Eli?  I was surprised that Izzy didn’t name one of her kids after George. 
 

I’ve never been a big fan of Jo, so that part didn’t bother me. Considering how awful the write off for KH was when she left, I’m glad that they gave Izzy some sort of closure along with Alex. 

 

i'm not even gonna lie, I'm surprised she didn't name the boy, Denny. 

[RedbirdNelly]

2 minutes ago, funnygirl said:

Izzie is short for Isobel (she's Isobel Stevens).

well then nevermind. . except Isobel is Spanish equivalent for Elizabeth. .. so although I was wrong, I think that is the connection on the names. She picked a girl name that was tied to Alex's and a boy's that was linked to hers.  

I didn't hate the episode. Did it make sense? no. Was it realistic for the character? no.

But given the circumstances with Alex leaving--and even though I agree some of the ideas posters have come up with are better---I was ok fan waving through the stupid parts. Even though i was never a Izzy/Alex person. I don't buy them like Carol/Doug or Mer/Dereck. 

I'm also possibly influenced by how I've never liked Jo. Even though I don't like her character (though it has gotten better and less cardboard--it's been awhile since we've heard about living in a car), I did feel bad for Jo. I mean, if this was something that actually happened, what a crappy way to get divorced. 

But I kind of see it as a bizarre step away from reality (kind of like the musical episode) so it kind of lives on its own island of illogic and I just move along with the rest of the show. I can't really snark on this like all the other things (thinking of you, Glasses) I snark on.

[apinknightmare]

36 minutes ago, Evie said:

I think they could have made it work if they had cut some flashbacks and let Jo voice her feelings, but I'm sure they wanted Jo to be the victim so they could more easily move her on.

Agree. I think Alex's exit was written the way it was specifically so everyone could effectively cut ties and move on as quickly as possible. Jo can be angry because she was wronged, Mer and everyone else can be happy that he's happy. No grief, just on to the next thing. 

[ams1001]

On a lighter note, I did laugh at the return address on Mer's letter saying only "Evil Spawn"...

And props to the post office for actually getting all the letters to their destinations on the same day. 😉

2 hours ago, funnygirl said:

And let me just add that I loved Miranda telling Ben that he changes careers like he changes sweaters. HA! Finally, it’s been called out. 

I especially liked it because he was actually wearing a sweater at the time.

Also liked that Miranda apparently plans to give him a reference even though he said he didn't expect her to after he pulled this stunt.

[taanja]

Ahhh. I'm just going to say -- all the feels.

God it was so nice seeing the fab 5 again! MAGIC indeed!

I personally thought that was a lovely way to say goodbye to Alex! Very well done! Now I can picture him happy with Izzy and his children living the dream. 

 

 

[RoxiP]

Personally I loved Izzy so although I think this was a crazy way to end Alex's storyline I don't hate it.  I don't particularly find it believable but these are characters on a television show so I really don't get that invested.  I do not want Linc and Jo to get together though - to me their relationship is more like Alex and Mere's and less like romance.

My favorite scene was the Ben/Miranda scene at the end.  And I love how Tuck and Joey seem to have bonded - maybe Tuck was grateful to have someone to hang out with since his parents seem to work all the time!

I think Jo had already decided that Alex had left her before she got the letter - and I think she always knew there was a part of Alex that always belonged to Izzy.  (Although I think his letter to her was full of major douchery.)  I hope she's strong enough to pick up and move on with her life without having a major meltdown, but then again this is Grey's so that probably isn't going to happen.

Edited March 6, 2020 by RoxiP

[mytmo]

This episode was a mixture of humor and sadness for me.  Humor at the preposterous ending of Karev.  Seriously all the scenes of adorable children frolicking on the farm I was expecting a voiceover of a warning that this episode may cause severe gag reflex, eye pain from rolling and sudden urge for sleep.  Sadness as I realized this show will never be like when it began and made me think it was goodbye for me as well.  I'll watch the debacle of who the baby daddy is with Amelia but I'm out except for reruns on Lifetime.

[statsgirl]

11 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

And I see Grey's is still jacking shit from E.R. Listen, I liked Alex and Izzy back in the day, even shipped them but they are no Doug and Carol. And so this insta-family/kids situation was completely bogus. 

If Krista was trying to parallel E.R., there were a bunch of reasons why it didn't work;

• Doug was always the love of Carol's life, The pilot episode had Carol trying to commit suicide because Doug dumped her.  Denny seemed to be the love of Izzy's.
• Carol never really had another serious relationship after Doug. Luka tried but he was always. Alex had a truly loving marriage with Jo.
• Doug grew up off-screen. Alex grew up on-screen and ended up in a relationship with Jo that was more mature than his relationship with Izzie (e.g. Alex and Jo stayed together through the problems and got through them together)
• Doug knew about the twins. Carol didn't create Doug's children without his knowledge and never tell him about them.
• Carol said proper goodbyes in person to her friends and co-workers before leaving.

This ending for Alex really is more like bad fanfic than the satisfaction of E.R.

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Linc continues to be the nicest person on the show. He fetched Jo's stuff from the loft and then offered to stay with her while she read Alex's letter. That doesn't mean I want the inevitable Jo/Linc romance though. Why can't we ever just let two platonic friends stay platonic?

Like Meredith and Alex?  😉

Jo and Linc work really well as two old friends who got through rough times together. I hope they stay as friends. Bring on someone new for Jo like they did for Meredith.

53 minutes ago, Evie said:

I think Alex not answxering her calls/texts for weeks? months? (Seriously, what is the timeline on this show? It seems like weeks have passed in Seattle and months in Kansas. I've been to Kansas. They have winter too but there was just a blizzard in Seattle and yet it was summer on the farm heh)

Good point! Even if Alex wrote to Izzy initially for Meredith, there still hasn't been summer between then and now.

And a farm? How story book perfect!  Izzy is an oncology surgeon, why is she living so far away from her work? And who works the farm, because between her work and her kids, Izzy isn't going to have the time to.

The closer one looks at the HEA picture, the more it smells of rotten fish. Alex being held prisoner is starting to look more likely.

[LexieLily]

1 minute ago, statsgirl said:

The closer one looks at the HEA picutre, the more it smells of rotten fish. Alex being held prisoner is starting to look more likely.

Alex not contacting his wife or his best friend or anyone he worked with for weeks or months outside of a basic emoji to Richard and Owen makes no sense. Anyone could have his phone and could have done that. The flashing blinking dots Meredith got that one time that showed Alex was starting to respond to her text and then stopped - as you said, that should have been a red flag.

Have we ever seen Alex's handwriting before? Would a doctor that never replied to any text messages or phone calls sit down and write out four letters of what seemed like two or three pages each?

[truthaboutluv]

12 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

If Krista was trying to parallel E.R., there were a bunch of reasons why it didn't work;

• Doug was always the love of Carol's life, The pilot episode had Carol trying to commit suicide because Doug dumped her.  Denny seemed to be the love of Izzy's.
• Carol never really had another serious relationship after Doug. Luka tried but he was always. Alex had a truly loving marriage with Jo.
• Doug grew up off-screen. Alex grew up on-screen and ended up in a relationship with Jo that was more mature than his relationship with Izzie (e.g. Alex and Jo stayed together through the problems and got through them together)
• Doug knew about the twins. Carol didn't create Doug's children without his knowledge and never tell him about them.
• Carol said proper goodbyes in person to her friends and co-workers before leaving.

This ending for Alex really is more like bad fanfic than the satisfaction of E.R.

Well yes, all of this because I certainly never inferred that it was done well. That was kind of the point. The general idea was similar but yeah as I said, they were no Doug and Carol, for the exact reasons you listed.